Molecular mechanisms underlying TGF-ß/Hippo signaling crosstalks - Role of baso-apical epithelial cell polarity

The ubiquitous distribution of both Hippo and TGF-ß signaling cascade components and their critical implication in tissue homeostasis and disease has led to the discovery of a remarkable slew of interesting and unique features regarding their functional crosstalks. Upstream cellular cues regulating the Hippo pathway, including cell-cell contacts and apico-basal cell polarity have been well characterized. Herein, we provide an overview of the published models of compartmentalized signaling crosstalk mechanisms between Hippo signaling and the TGF-ß/SMAD pathway. How cell polarity impacts the interaction between the two pathways is discussed, together with the specifics of cytoplasmic and nuclear events implicating SMADs and YAP/TAZ, leading to contextual regulation of target gene expression.